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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has just put out a proposal to cut Medicare and Medicaid benefits. In the text of the proposal, his first recommendation is raising the Medicare age from 65 to 67.

To justify this, he cites “bipartisan” support:

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT:Ai??This policy was supported by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.Ai?? It was also included in the bipartisan Biden-Cantor deficit reduction negotiation, the bipartisan Obama-Boehner negotiations, and the Coburn-Lieberman Medicare proposal from last Congress. Prominent Democrats, such as Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), suggested that this policy should be part of the discussion to reform entitlements.Ai?? The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has provided this as an entitlement reform option.

Hatch’s statement makes it seem like Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) would accept a hike in the Medicare age. While the congressman did once suggest that it would be part of the discussion, he later backtracked and flatly said he will not accept a raising of the age, because it would just result in “transferring” costs to seniors.

And while Hatch can cite some elites who support raising the Medicare age, among the general public the proposal is only bipartisan in the opposition to it. A Washington Post poll last year found that American voters, by a margin of two-to-one, oppose raising the Medicare age.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Late yesterday, a mysterious postAi??showed up on New York City’s craigslist ads. A “firm” is offering $20 to protesters to show up at an anti-wind energy protest outside the British Consulate in Manhattan. Here’s a screen grab of it:

Astroturfing is not a new tactic for corporate interests. For example, Ralph Reed’s lobbying firm tried to create a fake tea party movement to stop regulation of Wall Street.

If you’re sick of money in politics,Ai??click here to join PCCCai??i??s Take Back Democracy campaign.

Ex-Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) was always a friend to the insurance industry while he was in office. He was rewarded for this friendship last week when it was announced that he would become theAi??chief executive of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Although Nelson claims he will not act as an official lobbyist, this is only because he is barred from registering as a lobbyist to lobby Congress for two years. Serving as the head of a major special interest organization that does have registered lobbyists will effectively grant him the same role.

In his new job, Nelson will earn $950,000 annually. That is a 445 percent increase over his former job as a U.S. Senator, where he earned $174,000.

If you want to shut the revolving door,Ai??click here to join PCCCai??i??s Take Back Democracy campaign.

The NRA likes to claim that it represents gun owners. But the truth is, it represents extreme positions more likely held by gun manufacturers than America’s responsible gun-owning families.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one group of responsible gun owners is taking a stand against the NRA. The Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show, in the wake of the tragic events at Sandy Hook, decided not to feature certain weapons at the event, including assault rifles.

This is their statement on their move:

As a hunting-focused event, we welcome exhibitors who wish to showcase products and firearms that serve the traditional needs of the sport. Clearly, we strongly support the 2nd Amendment. However, this year we have made the decision not to include certain products that in the current climate may attract negative attention that would distract from the strong focus on hunting and fishing at this family-oriented event and possibly disrupt the broader positive experience of our guests.

This set off an angry reaction by the NRA, which decided to pull out of the event altogether.

This move by this hunting show against the NRA could be the start of a movement, where responsible gun owners and hunters stand up to the group’s extreme views.

Sign our petition supporting Obamaai??i??s plan.

Some right-wing politicians want to raise the Medicare age to 67. This would reduce the deficit by $5.7 billion each year but pass on costs to seniors of $11.4 billion every year as well.

Rather than making health care more expensive for seniors, here’s a progressive deficit reduction idea. Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office saidAi??we could raise $114 billion over ten years — twice as much as raising the Medicare age — by limiting corporate tax deferrals.

The way to do this would be to subject all income earned by foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations to U.S. tax laws by limiting or eliminating deferrals for overseas profits. Right now, large corporations like Microsoft will shift their profits to overseas locations — such as remote islands in the Caribbean or Switzerland — to avoid paying taxes on them.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.

Image from Americans for Tax Fairness

The corporate front group Fix The Debt (FTD) wants to enact the Bowles-Simpson plan to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits while also unfairly lowering corporate tax rates.

To do this, it has assembled state chapters to push for this radical agenda at the grassroots level. It has picked out special leaders for these chapters who identify as both Democrats and Republicans, as evidence that the group has bipartisan appeal.

But besides their bipartisanship, many of these co-chairs andAi??steeringAi??committee members share another trait: they are corporate lobbyists. Here’s three states where FTD picked leaders who also work as corporate lobbyists:

MINNESOTA:

Former Republican State Senator Rudy Boschwitz: Boschwitz is the head of theAi??Boschwitz Associates lobbying firm, where he has worked for both Ball Aerospace & Technologies and TCF Bank. He is a state co-chair of FTD.
Former Democratic Congressman Tim Penny: Penny is the honorary chairman of the Dollar Coin Alliance, which is composed of mining companies trying to replace the U.S. dollar with a dollar coin. He is also on the board of Wells Fargo Advantage. He is a state co-chair of FTD.

PENNSYLVANIA:

Former Democratic State Representative TJ Rooney:Ai??Rooney is the president of Tri State Strategies Pennsylvania and the co-chair of FTD Pennsylvania. He’s a registered lobbyist.
Former Republican State Senator Earl Baker: Baker is on the state steering committee, and he boasts on his consultancy website that he has the “experience and knowledge to successfully represent you as a consultant in government relations” (lobbying).

MICHIGAN:

Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema: Sikkema, who is a state co-chair for FTD, is the “Senior Policy Fellow” at Public Sector Consultants. He also helped run the campaign to defeat the renewable energy proposition on the state’s 2012 ballot.
Kevin McKinney, …

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)

Blue Dog Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) has been a long-time favorite of the National Rifle Association. In his last election, he got an “A” rating from the group and scored an endorsement — something he was so proud about that his campaign put out a press release touting it.

Following the tragedy at Sandy Hook, Matheson has refused to talk about gun reforms and recently dismissed many of Obama’s proposed measures.

But while he is against common sense reforms on gun policies, he instead introduced a bill about violent video games. The bill would decree that:

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or rent, or attempt to sell or rentai??i?? (1) any video game containing a content rating of ai???Adults Onlyai??? (as determined by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board) to any person under the age of 18; or (2) any video game containing a content rating of ai???Matureai??? (as determined by such Board) to any person under the age of 17.

Not only is Matheson avoiding the main issues relating to gun violence, but his bill is unconstitutional. In 2011, the Supreme Court struck down a nearly-identical law in California.

Sign our petition supporting Obamaai??i??s plan.

Dr. King on April 3rd, 1968, at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee.

As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today, many Americans know this American hero as a champion of racial equality. But few know that he spent the last years of his life fighting for an end to the Vietnam War and a less militaristic foreign policy, or that he championed economic justice as well.

King spent the last days of his life working for justice for union workers in Memphis, Tennessee.

On April 3, 1968, King traveled there, where he delivered his famous ai???Iai??i??ve Been To The Mountaintopai??? speech, during which he endorsed a ai???human rights revolutionai??? based around eradicating racism, poverty, and militarism.

King had arrived in Memphis to support a strike by the cityai??i??s sanitation workers,Ai??who struckAi??to gain collective bargaining rights and better conditions following the deaths of two city workers in an accident. King called upon the city to respect the ai???dignity of labor,ai??? saying that all workers deserved fair treatment. He also said it was a crime for a rich country like the United States to pay some people starvation wages. Documentary footage from the AFSCME union captured Kingai??i??s address to the workers:

King implored people to think about a new kind of “unselfishness” in his last public speech, and asked people to support workers like the sanitation employees on strike:

That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?” “If I do not stop to help the sanitation …

Following President Obama’s push for tougher gun regulations, the National Rifle Association (NRA) claimed that it supported the spirit of one of his proposals: expanding background checks for gun buyers.

The press widely reported this NRA stance:

CBS: NRA President: Group supporting of tighter background checks (1/17/2013)
Associated Press: NRA chief says group accepts background checks (1/17/2013)
The Hill: NRA chief “generally supportive” of strong background checks (1/17/2013)

But shockingly, at the very same time the NRA was claiming to support tougher background checks, it helped oppose and kill several Virginia bills introduced to enact such a policy. Here’s an excerpt from an email the NRA sent to its members in Virginia over the weekend, bragging about killing the background check bills last week:

Senate Bill 1136,Ai??Senate Bill 1232Ai??andAi??Senate Bill 1281Ai??would require a background check on all private firearm transfers, including between family members.Ai??Ai??The NRA opposes SB 1136, SB 1232 and SB 1281, and all three Senate bills were defeated.
Senate Bill 911Ai??andAi??Senate Bill 1001Ai??would require a background check on all private firearm transfers at a gun show.Ai?? Under current law, only licensed dealers must obtain such a check.Ai?? SB 911 was rolled into SB 1001.Ai??Ai??Consideration on SB 1001, opposed by the NRA, was passed over for the day and may be heard on Monday, January 21 at 8:00 a.m.

The NRA appears to be saying one thing and doing another.

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Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

Corporate lobbyists and their allies in Washington want to cut Medicare benefits by raising the eligibility age. This would cost seniors an additional $11.4 billion every year.

In an interview with the local press, Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley also points out that this would have a huge human cost:

ai???Across Oregon, at town hall after town hall, I hear stories like what we heard today — stories from seniors who are just trying to hang on to get to age 65 and access Medicare,ai??? said Merkley.

ai???And now, some folks in Washington are proposing raising the Medicare age from 65 to 67 or possibly higher. This is unacceptable. This hurts our seniors. For some seniors, raising the Medicare age would be a death sentence.ai???

Naked Capitalism’s Matthew StollerAi??runs the numbers and estimates that raising the Medicare age to 67 could lead to as many as an additional 1,261 senior deaths each year even if the Affordable Care Act is implemented on time.

Click hereAi??to pledge to hold any Democrat who agrees to a deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits accountable.